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Simba/Main article
Simba is the main character in the Lion King series. The son of Mufasa and Sarabi, his childhood is spent obsessed with the prospect of being king of Pride Rock until Scar murders his father. Thinking himself responsible, he runs away and is found by Timon and Pumbaa. Simba returns to take his place as king after his childhood friend Nala, who would eventually be his mate. He fathers two known children to rule after him. Appearance As a young cub, Simba was golden-brown, with a tuft of fur on his head. In his adolescent years he started to grow more head hair. Now an adult, Simba is stronger and has fully grown a red-brown mane, lighter than his father's. Personality As a cub, Simba is curious, adventurous, and all too ready to become king. He is known to overstep his authority and attempt to order around the other creatures of Pride Rock. He suffers serious emotional trauma when Scar, his uncle, murders Mufasa. He didn't know this however, and Scar convinces Simba that he was responsible for his father's death, and says to from the Pridelands, never to return. He later picks up a happy, carefree lifestyle with Timon and Pumbaa in an idyllic jungle paradise. As an adolescent, he has long since forgotten his old life, and once again acts as over-confident and adventurous as he did as a cub. Later, when Simba learns that Scar is ruling the Pridelands unjustly, he faces his past and returns to take his place as the rightful king. By having the responsibilities of being a king thrust upon him so suddenly, Simba is forced to mature greatly. As a ruler and as a father, Simba makes good decisions and is more down-to-earth. However, he still retains some of his childhood innocence in the way he rules. Rather than rule by law and justice, Simba follows his heart and trusts the counsel of his friends, making him a very beloved king. Information The Lion King ]] In the beginning of the first film, Simba is an infant curled up in his mother's paws during the royal ceremony, where all cubs of the king and queen are presented from the summit of Pride Rock. For the ceremony, Rafiki the baboon cracks open a gourd and makes a red mark on Simba's forehead. He sprinkles sand on the newborn's head, causing baby Simba to sneeze. After his anointing, Rafiki picks him up and presents Simba to all the animals in the Pridelands who had gathered to see him. Simba grows into a lively, playful cub. Waking up one morning at dawn, he begs his father to show him the whole kingdom. Simba and his father climb to the top of Pride Rock, where Mufasa explains to his son that everything the light touches is their kingdom, and after his passing, Simba's. The cub questions the "shadowy place", and Mufasa explains that it is beyond their borders, so he must never go there. His father takes him walking through the Pridelands and Mufasa tells Simba about the "great Circle of Life"; that is, when lions die their bodies become the grass, and then the antelope eat the grass, who in turn are eaten by the lions. As they are walking, Zazu, Mufasa's adviser, gives the king the morning report, but an uninterested Simba pounces on a bug. When he misses, Mufasa tells Zazu to turn around and instructs Simba on how to pounce properly. Simba succeeds in pinning down Zazu. As Zazu is on his back, a mole pops up and tells Zazu and Mufasa there are dangerous hyenas in the Pridelands. The alpha lion Mufasa leaves to deal with the threat, not letting Simba come with him. Grumpily, Simba returns to Pride Rock to find his uncle Scar. He gleefully informs Scar that he's gonna be King of Pride Rock, irritating Scar, who unenthusiastically replies, "Oh goody". Simba doesn't get the hint, and his uncle eventually asks him whether his brother showed him what lies beyond the northern border; Simba admits that he didn't, and Scar acts relieved, saying only the bravest of lions go there. Objecting, Simba says he's brave and demands to know what's there. "Accidentally on purpose," Scar lets slip that it's an elephant graveyard, aware that Simba's curiosity will lead him there. Simba is excited at the prospect of an adventure, but promises his uncle that he won't visit that "dreadful place." Instead, Simba goes to his best friend Nala being bathed by her mother, Sarafina, opposite his own mom, Sarabi; Simba tries to get Nala to accompany him somewhere, without giving away the location of their adventure by lying "the waterhole." Sarabi sends Zazu to along with them anyways. On the way to the waterhole, Zazu explains to Simba and Nala that they are "betrothed," meaning they are set to be mates and rule the Pridelands, but since they are just friends, they find it too weird. The duo ditch Zazu by crushing him with a pile of animals set to Simba singing "I Just Can't Wait to Be King". The cubs tumble into the elephant graveyard, and after a quick exploration, Zazu catches up with the them before Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed show up. Simba tries to be brave in front of the hyenas, but realizing the danger, the cubs make a frantic effort to escape while Zazu alerts Mufasa, appearing to save the two cubs. Going back to Pride Rock, Mufasa tells Simba he's very disappointed in him; Simba says he was trying to be brave like his dad. After playing together under the sky, Mufasa talks to his son about the "Great Kings of the Past" looking down from the stars, and whenever he feels alone, the stars will always be there to guide him—and so will he. The next day, Scar, who had been plotting to kill his brother and nephew to become king, takes Simba with him to a large gorge, saying his father has a surprise" for him. Simba begs his uncle to tell him what it is, but Scar walks away after teasing him about practicing his "little roar". Unknown to Simba, Scar had his three hyenas start a wildebeest stampede to chase the frightened animals down to the gorge below. While the cub practices his roar a little louder than usual, the wildebeest charge down the cliff face in the direction of Simba. Terrified, Simba runs for his life. Meanwhile, Scar runs to Mufasa panting Simba is in the stampede down in the gorge. Immediately, Mufasa runs to save his son, who desperately manages to jump and cling on to a branch while the wildebeest thunder below him. Just as his dad arrives, a wildebeest collides with the branch and breaks it; Mufasa fights through the stampede to catch his son, then gets Simba to safety. Pulled back ito the crowd, the alpha lion fights and struggles and throws himself on to the ledge, clinging on for dear life. Seeing this, Simba runs to the top of the cliff. As he reaches the top, all he sees is his dad plummet into the stampede below, not knowing he was just thrown by Scar. He cries out and races down to the bottom of the gorge to find his father's body under the branch he was clinging to. Hoping that his father isn't dead, he tries to revive him. Knowing he's not waking up, he calls for help, but starts to cry and crawls under his father's fore paw. Scar approaches and convinces him that he is responsible for the death of the king, since he roared and caused the stampede, but Scar really caused it. Asked what everyone would think, Simba doesn't know what to do, so Scar tells to run away and never return. Scampering away, Scar sends Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed to kill Simba. Panicked, scared, and now chased by hyenas, he runs on some rocks up the gorge and comes out at the top of a steep cliff. With a patch of sharp thorns below, Simba has no choice but to jump down the cliff to escape the predators. He tumbles down and forces himself through, but the hyenas don't follow, thinking Simba is as good as dead out in the barren desert anyway. Tired and dehydrated, Simba wanders into the desert; in the burning heat, he eventually faints. Waiting for him to die, vultures circle overhead, but a meerkat named Timon and a warthog named Pumbaa scare away the vultures and save the unconscious cub. They revive him and ask him if he's okay. He shakily replies, then starts to wander off; the two ask what he did, but Simba doesn't want to talk about it. Timon and Pumbaa take the cub into a jungle to teach him to forget the past and live by "Hakuna Matata", meaning "no worries." During the song "Hakuna Matata," Timon and Pumbaa have Simba eat bugs, explore his new home, and live without worry. The three walk across a log, which represents time elapse of a few years, during which Simba goes from a cub to a teenager to an adult. Growing up in the jungle, Simba learns to be carefree and forget all about his responsibilities. Although happy in the jungle, he feels homesick when stargazing with his friends, recalling what his father told him all those years ago when they looked up at the stars. He gets more upset when Timon's comments mock the Great Kings of the Past. Simba leaves to flop down on the rock, wishing his father was still alive. A few days later, Simba hears his two friends calling for help in the jungle and immediately rushes to help, finding himself face-to-face with an angry lioness. The lioness easily flips Simba onto his back, a move he recognizes from his childhood friend Nala. They rejoice, and Nala tells Simba he's the rightful King. Simba rejects his responsibility and refuses to go back, still thinking's he's guilty of killing his father; still, he comforts Nala as she struggles with the reality of him being alive after all those years. Enjoying a peaceful sunset evening together, playing "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," the two lions realize their past friendship has now blossomed into love. That evening, Nala tries to persuade Simba to go back to the Pridelands, but he refuses, which leads to an argument. Simba marches away from Nala and, in a grassy field, yells to the sky, "You said you would always be there for me! But you're not... it's because of me. It's my fault." After this, Simba notices a baboon singing in a tree. Trying to get away from him, Simba goes to lie down away from the monkey; the baboon, the same one from Simba's birth ceremony years ago, refuses to leave him alone, so Simba asks who he is. Simba doesn't know anymore, and after the monkey chants in his ear, he says that Simba is Mufasa's boy. He chases Rafiki and asks if he knew his father, but Rafiki says he knows his father, and explains to Simba that Mufasa lives inside of him, showing him his reflection. Simba's reflection becomes the face of Mufasa; at this, Mufasa's spirit appears in the sky, which Simba recognizes, but Mufasa accuses his son of forgetting him. His father says he has forgotten his father and his own place in the Circle of Life. He reminds Simba that he is his son and the one true King, before telling him to "remember". Simba chases his father's disappearing form in the sky; Rafiki approaches Simba again and, through whacking him on the head with his stick, teaches him the lesson that even though things are in the past, they can still hurt, but you should learn form them. This time, Simba dodges Rakiki's whack and leaves to take back his place as king. He is shocked at the dry, barren condition the once green and fertile land is in. Simba trudges through the Pridelands, where he is met by Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa, come to help him fight. After a diversion from Timon and Pumbaa, Simba and Nala sneak past the hyenas and look at Pride Rock, where he instructs Nala to rally the lionesses and turns to find Scar. Hidden as his anger mounts by watching Scar strikes his mother, Simba runs out of hiding down to her side. Not recognizing him at first, Sarabi eventually realizes it is her son, who turns on his uncle. Trapped, Scar resorts to accusing Simba of killing Mufasa, and Simba doesn't deny it. With the lionesses watching, Scar corners Simba on the edge of Pride Rock's promontory; Simba slips but manages to cling on. Certain he has won, Scar whispers in his ear that he killed Mufasa. Filled with anger, Simba jumps off the edge to pins Scar to the ground and forces him to admit to the lionesses. Hyena's close in and the lionesses, now on Simba's side, fight back, but Simba loses Scar in the confusion. He chases him to the summit of Pride Rock, where Scar pleads for mercy and tries to blame the hyenas; the hyenas turn away in disgust and anger. Simba does not kill Scar, but repeats the words his uncle told him all those years ago: "Run. Run away, Scar; and never return." Scar skulks away, but suddenly turns around and throws burning embers into Simba's eyes. The two lions fight bitterly, until Scar knocks Simba to the ground, when finally, Simba uses Nala's trick and flips Scar over his head and down to the rock below. Simba looks down and sees Scar being killed by the hyenas he betrayed. After the battle, Simba greets his mother, Nala, and everyone else before Rafiki tells him that "It is time". Simba then climbs up Pride Rock and roars out over his kingdom while rain falls over the ended battle. Seasons later, the Pridelands have grown back green, and all the animals return to Pride Rock once again to welcome the birth of a new cub. Simba and Nala, the new king and queen of the Pridelands, proudly look on as Rafiki holds their cub up for all the kingdom to see. The Lion King 1½ During Timon and Pumbaa's first try at a new home, they saw Simba's birth ceremony. Although they had no interest in it, they came to witness the event anyways. The two later found a small cave in the Pridelands, which they lived in for a month or two until Simba and Nala singing "I Just Can't Wait to be King" drove them out. Although not seen, we can hear Simba say "I'm okay" after the animal pyramid falls down. Later, after Mufasa is murdered and Simba runs away from the Pridelands, he wanders around the desert feeling guilty thinking he killed his father. Simba collapses of fatigue and exhaustion, lying under the sun with buzzards circling overhead. The cub is found by Timon and Pumbaa, who carry him to shade and water and eventually let him live in the jungle with them. Growing up without worries, Simba soon proves to be a difficult cub to handle and Timon and Pumbaa find it hard to be adoptive parents. Living carefree in the jungle forest, Simba gets into all kinds of mischief that his parents would have never allowed: jumping down from dangerously tall trees, swimming down steep and deadly waterfalls backwards, and spinning Timon around like a play toy. He also keeps Timon up all night having to go to the bathroom, wanting a drink of water, and needing the bathroom again. One night, Simba was awakened by a nightmare, probably involving his father's death. A few months pass and Simba is now a teenage lion, who seems to beat Timon and Pumbaa at all kinds of alliterative bug eating contests, including the longest bug belch, slug swallowing, cricket crunching, grub gulping, maggot munching, as well as the snail slurping contest shown in the film. He has grown a small mane on his head and looks even more hot-headed than as a cub. Months or maybe a year later, Simba has now grown to an adult lion who enjoys his life with Timon and Pumbaa in the jungle. Simba had an interesting conversation with Pumbaa about dung beetles before Nala appears and chases Pumbaa, causing Simba to attack her; he later realizes it's his old childhood friend. In "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?", we see that Simba takes Nala on a romantic evening in the jungle, unknowingly hurting Timon while the meerkat attempts to split the two lovers up. After the familiar scenes of Simba arguing with Nala about wheter or not he should return to the Pridelands to be the Lion King, Simba runs off and sees his father's ghost, although the timing is a lot shorter after the argument, happening almost instantly after he runs off. This could be counted as a mistake, although it was probably sped up for the convenience of the filmmakers, who wanted to move the film on. There are also some new views of Simba fighting against Scar, including a shot of him chasing Scar up to the top of Pride Rock and a different angle of Simba slipping off the cliff when Scar corners him. Simba's leaping up and forcing the truth out of Scar about Mufasa's death is also seen at a new angle. Once the violence is over, Simba thanks Timon and Pumbaa for their help against the hyenas before he climbs Pride Rock, roaring for all of the Pridelands to know they have won. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Seasons later, all the animals, including giraffes, elephants, gazelles, and other African wildlife, return to Pride Rock to welcome the birth of a new cub in the royal lion family, Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara. The Lion King looks on proudly as Rafiki holds his baby cub up for all of his kingdom kingdom to see, just as his father, Mufasa, did when Simba himself was born. As his daughter grows up, Simba turns out to be an extremely over-protective father. (Many fans believe this is because his son Kopa was killed by Zira, although the theory is not official.) One time when Kiara goes off to play, he warns her to stay away from the Outlands and to stay on the path he's marked for her". Nala teases Simba about Kiara's likeness to Simba when he was a cub. Simba confesses his feeling to Nala about how much trouble they got themselves into. Nala assures him that Kiara will be fine; but he sends Timon and Pumbaa after her to watch her anyway. After he realizes that Kiara has sneaked away from her babysitters, he goes out to get her, finding her near the outskirts of the Outlands, and with a Outsider cub growling at her. He jumps in front of Kiara, protecting her; at the same time, Zira launches herself in front of her cub, Kovu. Simba snarls at her, and Zira mockingly gives cover-up for punishment for straying into the Pride Lands. Simba growls at her, "Take him and get out—We're finished here." Zira laughs menacingly, and replies, "Oh no, Simba; we have barely begun!" Simba takes Kiara and walks away. Simba reminds Kiara that she has got to be Queen, even though she may not want to be; he reminds her of the "Great Circle of Life'. He tells her that they are part of each other, and sings to her that they are "one". Years later on (Kiara's first hunt), Kiara pleads with her father to let her hunt on her own. Simba promises, but sends Timon and Pumbaa to watch her anyway. A few hours later, Simba paces nervously on Pride Rock, where Zazu reassures him that Kiara will be fine. Suddenly, Simba notices smoke on the horizon as Zira's plan goes into action. He races to Kiara, only to find her talking to the same cub Zira had promised would take over his throne, Kovu. Simba is roaring menacingly at Kovu when Rafiki appears and brings up the fact that Kovu saved his daughter's life. When Simba asks him why, Kovu asks to join his pride. Simba refuses; but Zazu tells him that his father's law demands all debts be paid. In repayment for his daughter's life, Simba lets Kovu join the pride on judgment, but doesn't allow him to sleep with the other lions. That night, Simba has a dream similar to the scenario in which his father was killed by his brother, Scar. In the dream, Simba tries to save his father, who is hanging on a cliff face. As he reaches down, he realizes that he is also on the cliff face, and Scar is looking over him as Scar grabs his paw. Mufasa slips away. Simba looks up to see Kovu instead of Scar; then Kovu lets Simba fall, and he wakes up out of his dream. The next morning, Simba has a drink at the waterhole. Unknown to him, Kovu is behind him, ready to kill. Luckily, Kiara turns up wanting her hunting lesson, so Kovu is drawn away. That night, Simba looks down on Kiara and Kovu stargazing together, and asks his father for guidance. Nala then walks beside him and tells him to trust Kovu more. That evening, Simba lets Kovu sleep with the other lions in the cave. The next morning, Simba asks Kovu to walk with him. He explains to Kovu his side of the story about Scar. As they are walking, Zira and the other Outsiders surround them. Simba angrily snarls at Kovu, thinking this was his plan. The Outsider lionesses close in around him and he manages to throw them off. He runs into a gorge and climbs up the dam. Just as he's climbing, Nuka grabs his ankles, pulling him down. Simba pushes himself up, dislodging a log which tumbles down and crushes Nuka. Simba escapes and weakly makes his way back to Pride Rock, where he manages to whisper to Kiara what happened, before fainting. He is then carried back to Pride Rock by Pumbaa, where he wakes up. When Kovu returns, asking for forgiveness, Simba does not believe Kovu had nothing to do with the attack. He exiles Kovu, to which Kiara pleads with him to reconsider. When he refuses, she angrily yells at him, "You will never be Mufasa!" That night, the rain falls down, and Simba asks Timon and Pumbaa where Kiara is. Just as he finds out she is missing, Zazu informs him the Outsiders are on the attack. He commands Zazu to find Kiara and assembles the lionesses, ready for battle. When they approach the Outsiders, Simba gives Zira a chance to go home. Zira tells Simba that she is already home, and commands her troops to attack. After a bitter battle, Zira jumps down off her rock, ready to attack Simba herself. Just as they are about to go into combat, Kiara jumps in front of her father. She reminds him that they are "one", and there is no point fighting. Simba understands, and as his father shines down from the clouds, he nuzzles his daughter. Zira orders her daughter Vitani to attack Simba; She refuses to do so, and crosses onto his side. Zira, realising she's losing, attempts one more time to attack Simba; as she jumps for him, Kiara jumps in her way. Shocked, Simba jumps down after them, just as Zira slips away into the water below. Simba reaches his daughter and helps her back up the cliff, where a worried Nala is waiting. When Kiara is reunited with Kovu, Simba studies him and admits he was wrong, and accepts Kovu and all the Outsiders into his pride. At the end, Simba, Nala, Kiara, and Kovu all walk to the top of Pride Rock and roar over their kingdom. As they do so, the sky opens up, and Simba hears Mufasa say to him, "Well done, my son. We are one." Although a very minor role in this movie, it gives the viewers an insight into what Simba's life was like while he was with Timon and Pumbaa in the jungle. Simba banished the dark lions, who became known as Outlanders, to a deserted place referred to as the Outlands for supporting Scar. The hyenas ran off, probably due to lack of support. Due to his paranoia of losing Kiara, Simba became uptight and overprotective. One day in her early childhood, Kiara had gone off to the Outlands, and Simba had to go rescue her, where he met Scar's mate Zira, who taunted Simba with the implication of the death of another cub. Simba merely took his daughter and left, and did not meet up with Zira again until some years later. When Kiara finally became an adult, Simba reluctantly allowed her to go on a hunt alone. Up until then, he would always send out Timon and Pumbaa to watch her, which he did again while Kiara was hunting. After the Outlanders, Nuka and Vitani had set the grassland on fire and Kovu began his staged rescue, Simba noticed that Kiara was in danger and went off to get her, meeting Kovu, who at the time had been trained to assassinate him. Simba, reserving judgement of Kovu, allowed him to follow him home. After finally gaining enough trust for Kovu to take a personal walk with him, Simba was ambushed by the Outlanders. Assuming Kovu had set it up, Simba regained his hatred towards dark lions, and banished Kovu. The death of Nuka, who had been crushed by a log Simba hack kicked on him, stirred up enough hatred from the Outlanders for a war to break out. Kiara had run away, and the Outlanders were now in the vicinity of Pride Rock, and coming for him. Durning the climax of the war, Kovu and Kiara returned, and convinced Simba to let go of his racism. Zira, however, didn't fare too well. The Outlanders joined forces with Simba's pridelanders, and Simba allowed Kovu to become his heir. Other Roles The Lion King Musical Following the success of The Lion King, Julie Taymor created the musical The Lion King. In this production, we have an insight into events that were not explored in the original film, as the main character, Simba, young and old, is in nearly all the musical numbers. But in the Broadway production, we see a slightly extended role, which includes scenes like Timon being trapped above a lake full of crocodiles, which was Simba's fault; and the song "Endless Night". Jason Raize plays Adult Simba, and Scott Irby-Ranniar plays Young Simba in the original Broadway cast of The Lion King. Early Production In early sketches, Simba still has the same liveliness and playfulness as the Simba we see in the film, although the style changes when it came to Simba's final design. The early sketches show Simba's character and characteristics such are his earmarks. These sketches also have an original "Disney style" about them, which is softened down in the final designs of all the lions in The Lion King. Interestingly enough, in the sketch on the right, Simba has cheeks similar to those of the Outsiders in Simba's Pride. An original storyline for Simba that was dropped was Teen Simba saving Nala's little brother Mheetu from a stampede in the gorge. Kingdom Hearts II In Kingdom Hearts II, when the main protagonists (Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy) explore the jungle in the Pride Lands world, Simba almost attacks them, not recognizing them as they were turned into animals due to Sora's enchanted clothes. Initially, Simba refuses to go back to the Pride Lands, stating he was "not who he used to be." His father, Mufasa, comes to him and tells him to go back; afterwards, he accompanies Sora, Donald, and Goofy to Pride Rock for a climactic battle with both the hyenas Shenzi, Banzai and Ed and Scar, who had been turned into a Heartless because of his anger and jealousy. Sora left after the successful coronation of Simba. When Sora returned, Simba had been driven into doubt by rumors of Scar's ghost. He later gained confidence and stood up to Scar's ghost, which was a manifestation of Simba's uncertainty and fear. Simba has a move with Sora that causes huge rocks to appear and strike opponents, after which he slashes foes - ending, finally, with his summon attack from the first game, Proud Roar. Cam Clarke voices Simba in the above two appearances, with an archival recording of Jonathan Taylor Thomas used for Young Simba in a flashback sequence in Kingdom Hearts II. All Voice Actors *'The Lion King (film) - (1994) - (film)' - Jonathan Taylor Thomas - (cub), Matthew Broderick - (adult), Jason Weaver - (cub singing voice), Joseph Williams - (adult singing voice), Evan Saucedo - ("The Morning Report") *'The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa - (1995) - (TV series)' - Cam Clarke (adult voice) *'The Lion King (musical) - (1997) - (musical)' - Scott Irby-Ranniar (cub) (original actor), Jason Raize (adult) (original actor) *'The Lion King II: Simba's Pride - (1998) - (film)' - Matthew Broderick (adult), Cam Clarke (adult singing voice) *'The Lion King 1½ - (2004) - (film)' - Matt Weinberg (cub), Matthew Broderick (teenager and adult) *'Kingdom Hearts II - (2005) - (video game)' - Jonathan Taylor Thomas (cub), Cam Clarke (adult voice, English) Category:Characters Category:Lions Category:Pridelanders Category:Male Characters